An undated photograph of the suspect.
DH Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: A 47-year-old man in southern Bengaluru was arrested for killing his minor son by brutally assaulting him, the police said on Saturday. The arrested suspect is Ravikumar, a resident of Yelachenahalli, a carpenter.
According to the FIR, Ravikumar said, 'It doesn't matter if a son like you live or die,” before assaulting Tejas, who suffered severe internal injuries. The Kumaraswamy Layout police have invoked BNS Sections 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence).
Senior police officers said that Ravikumar was allegedly angry with Tejas (14), a Class 9 student, for lagging in studies, frequently hanging out with his friends and constantly using the mobile phone.
According to the police, around 8 am on Friday, after an argument, Ravikumar, who was reportedly drunk, hit Tejas twice on his back and then on his limbs with a cricket bat and smashed his head against the wall. Tejas collapsed on the ground.
Shashikala B, Tejas’ mother and the complainant, left the house thinking it was one of the daily episodes.
Tejas had an older sibling who was away at the time.
“The previous night, after dinner, Tejas fought with me demanding that his mobile phone be repaired,” Shashikala told the police, according to the FIR. “I told him that if he went to school I would look into it. My husband also told him not to ruin his life. Despite this, Tejas hit me and abused me. I then went out and sat near a temple.”
Shashikala returned the following morning only to find her husband and son quarrelling. After going to the temple again following the assault, she returned in the afternoon only to see Tejas with laboured breathing. “His friend Kishore was at our house. Both of us took Tejas to the hospital around 3 pm, where he was declared dead,” she told the police.
She also alleged that Ravikumar, when he learned about Tejas’ death, had disposed of the cricket bat that he used for the fatal assault and tried to cover it up.
Late in the afternoon, the Kumaraswamy Layout police received an alert that a young boy had died and his parents were preparing for the last rites.
“A team was immediately dispatched. They intervened and when they found out about the incident, they arrested Ravikumar,” a senior police officer said. “He was produced before the court on Saturday and remanded in judicial custody.”